Can opener and the like



A. J. TANNER CAN OPENER AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 29, 1924 Z A/f/WWL Patented Jan. 13, 1925.

,szae

' ARNlOLD J. TANNER, OF NORTH HAVEN, CONNECTICUT CAN OPENER AND THE LIKE.

Application filed February 29, 1924. Serial'No. 695,936.

T all whom it may concern: 7

"Be it known that ARNOLD J. TANNER, a

citizen of the United States,and resident of North Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, has invented certam new and useful Improvements Hi Can Openers and the like, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to toolsemployed for opening-cans and-other containers and'one object of this invention is to improve the invention whichforms the subject "matter ofapplication for U. S. Patent, Se- -1-i11-*N0. 616,711,ffiled February 3rd 1923.

of supplying therequireinent for a perfect I can-opener, but generallythe previously pro f-posed can-"openers are found to be so complicated, both-as regards the structure and the operation,- thatthe ordinary operator fref-quently doe snot operate the tool in the cor- 'rectx-manner, consequently can openers of this kind cannot always satisfactorily fill the 25 requirement. a The conventional way of openlng an or- -dinary food containing can is to hold the tool in an upright 01' semi-upright position to cut out the top end of the can, and it may be noted, can-openers which do not work in the conventional way are theones which usually are not successfully operated.

The common type of can-opener, which operates in theconventional way, has a'hantile and a head, and at the end of the head, a

g'guiding forked fulcrum is provided. The blade member is securedat the side of the head b of the b rivetsand located so that the point lade lies adjacent to and within the forked end of the head. It has been ascertained'by experience that with this construction,theblade or cutting edge thereof is not ,Inaintained in the proper'relative position with respect to the fulcrum at all times during the cutting operation, consequently,

whenopeninga can, at certain times the tool is apt to simply tear open'the top of the can, leaving a very ragged edge, which is dangerousto the operator. Furthermore,

the. cutting edge is not kept close. to the rim 4 of the can, the natural result being that a fian eis left around the rim which renders of the can.

-According to the present invention, the

it-difficult frequently to remove the contents toolhas beencarefirlly designed to obviate Heretofore", -many other types of can openers have been designed with the ob ect all the disadvantages above referred to and further besides materially improving the production of a high grade tool at a comparatively low cost.

The improved can-opener and new manner of manufacturing the-same will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings and: the novel: features of the -1nvent1on Wlll be defined in u l the appended clalms. In said drawmgs- Figure lis a side elevation of the improved can-opener;

igure 2 a is a longitudinal sectional view, with part of the handle broken away;

and

Figure 3 is a detail view showing a forging or casting from which the head of the canopener is formed.

Referring to the drawings, the improved canopener has the handle 1 composed preferably of wood and of the shape as shown so that-it will conveniently fit the handof the operator in a position so that the hand,l1olding the tool, is kept well away from the head member and accordingly away from the cut edge of the can thus to some extent eliminating danger of cutting the hand. T he ferrule 2, preferably tapered, fits the reduced end of the handle. :Toget the best result, this ferrule should be composed of steel and substantially cup shaped with the hole 3 to receive the tang 4 of the operative member 5. The operative member has the shoulders 6 which abut against the ferrule, and these shoulders form one part of the retentive means for securing the operative member. This operative member comprises as integral parts, theaforesaid tang 4, cutting blade T and if desired the hook 8; and between said hook and blade a notch 9 is provided toform another part of the interlocking means for securing said operative-member.

The body member 10 is formed of a malleable iron casting or drop forging and in the original shape, this body member 10 comprises the head 11' and the tang 12, which latter tang is bifurcated or forked and a portion of the head is also bifurcated. Both the tang and bifurcated part of the head converge so as to facilitate the casting operation and further to ensure proper drawing in the casting operation, the shoulder 13 is given a slight draft. This shoulder 13 forms another part of the interlocking means for securing the operative member. v

In assembling the parts of the tool, the split'end of the head member and the tang are first closed so as to form a slot to receive the operative member which is located in place so that the shoulder 13 fits in the notch 9. When said head and operative member 3 are so assembled, they are then joined to the handle by seating the tang of the blade toether with the tang of the head member,;

Within the bore 14: in the end of the handle.

. The [assembled members are then driven l home so that the head is tightly held in the handle and the operative member is securely held byengagement of the notch 9 and shoulder, 13. The operative member is also se-v Cured by co-operation of the tangs within the handle and the shoulders 6, which latter abut tightly against the end of the ferrule 2;

Itwill be understood by means of this invention including the manner of manufacture, above described, the blade 1s securely retainedfinplace without necessitating use of rivets or other means requiring additional operations and accordingly there is considerable saving in the cost of manufacturing. Furthermore the appearance 'of the tool is not marred by rivets and besides this, the;

part of the head member which is exposed may be polished before assembling. V

The end of the head 11 has a tapering or flaring groove 15 on the underside and this groove provides a guiding and extended fulcrum for the cutting blade 7. On the upper side of the end of the head, the elevated porthe cutting member.

tion is formed and serves as a fulcrum for the hook member 8. i

It is known that many types of canopeners have been proposed having a bottle de-capping hook and frequently this hook member has no functional co-operation with In the present case however, it is necessary to leave sufficient stock of metal above the upper surface of the head member to form the upper shoulder 6 and to get sufficient stock to render the notch :9 operative. A projecting member is thus formed and this projection can be conveniently made to operate as a de-capping hook and thereby perform a double function.

It will be gathered from the above de scription that the construction of this im-' proved can-opener is very simple, and the operation thereof is equally simple, for it is only necessary for the operator to insertthe point 17 of the blade 7 into the top "of the can close to the rim and then work the tool in the ordinary manner. The

rim of the can is received within the grooved fulcrum which is preferably /-shaped, in cross section, as shown.

The point of the blade is desirably sharpened at the back so as to make penetration easy and the beveled cutting edge of blade 'ison. the opposite side of the blade, as shown in dotted lines. This has been found in practice to be the preferable way bfsharpening theblade because when sharpened this way, the blade has'a tendency to roll the cut edge of the canback close to the rim of the can.

Various modifications maybe made in the means for carrying out-this invention, without departing from the spirit there o-fraud it is therefore to be understood that-any modification coming fairly within the terms of the appended claims shall be covered there- 1. A tool, of the class described, having a handle member; a bifurcated body member adapted to be closed to form a receiving slot, an operative member adapted to'be secured within saidslot, said members having interlocking retentive meansoo-operating to secure said operative member when said members are assembled and a grooveat the free end of said head adapted to operate as a guiding fulcrum fortheltoolf v 2. A tool of he lass described, having a handle, a head member provided with a tang; an operative membersecured in said head member; said head member and its tang being bifurcated to form whenclosed a receiving reta mng slot for said operative member, said operative memberandgsaid head member having interlockin retentivemeans co-operating to secure sai operative member when both of said members are assembled and secured-within said handle and a groove on the underside of thefree end for the tool. 7 a I ,7

3. A can-opener having a body member, an operative member and a handle member; said bodymember having a slotted tang and of said headproviding guiding fulcrum portion to receive said operative member,

interlocking retentive engaging means for securing said operative member when said body member is secured in said handle member, and said meanscomprising a notch and shoulder on said operative member, a-shoulder at the inner end of 'saidslotand an abutment provided by a ferrule on said said operative member being leaned in an enlarged part of said operative member which extends above and below said body member providing respectively a base for a tie-capping hook and a cutting blade.

5. A can-opener having a body member, an operative member and a handle member; said body member having a slotted tang and portion to receive said operative member; interlocking retentive engaging means for securing said operative member effective when said body member is secured in said handle, member, and said body member being provided with a fulcrum at its outer end on both the upper and lower sides respectively for operation of the said operative member either for de-capping or cutting containers.

6. A can-opener composed of a handle, an operative member, a head member having a bifurcated end and bifurcated tang forming a slot in said head and tang to receive said operative member, retentive means provided on said members co-operating to secure said operative member and a groove on the underside of said head member operative as a guiding fulcrum for the tool.

7. A can-opener composed of a handle, an operative member, a head member formed with an open bifurcated end adapted to be closed to provide a slot to receive said operative member and retentive means provided on said members co-operating to secure said operative member within said slot.

Signed at New Haven, county of New Haven, State of Connecticut, this 28 day of Feb, 1924;

ARNOLD J. manna. 

